Happy Sankranthi!

Makar Sankranthi, as it is referred to in Karnataka, is a joyful and celebratory festival.  Unlike most of our festivals which follow the lunar calendar, Sankranthi follows the solar calendar, and falls at the same time every year on January 14 or 15.  While many view this day as a harvest celebration, it is also the day where we recognize the Sun starting to move in a Northward direction for the first six months of the calendar year.  This time of the year is most conducive to doing positive things that can move us in an upwards direction as well. 

In our home, we celebrated the day by bringing together family and friends and by making some traditional and tasty treats including:

Ellu 

A roasted trail mix like mixture of sesame seeds, peanuts, whole split peas ("hurgadle"), dry coconut, pieces of jaggery, and pieces of sugar candy ("sakkare acchu").

Sakkare Acchu

Quite literally translated to "sugar molds", these sugary morsels are exactly that!  Milk, water and sugar boiled together and put into molds until they harden into sugar candy. 

Wishing everyone a very happy Sankranthi!

Return to Writing

A few years ago I started this blog to write down and share general ideas as a new mother. When my child was about a year old, I stopped writing as I re-entered the work force and found myself in a busy and fast paced juggling act of work and family. Now, in an attempt to slow down and process my thoughts more, I am coming back to this forum but with a different focus.

The one thing that always comes to my mind and that I strive to do is to pass on cultural traditions to my children that my parents succeeded in passing down to me. I thought "why not write that down"... Maybe someone out there will like my ideas and maybe I will also be able to learn from someone else's ideas. So that is what I am aiming to do with attempt number two at blogging.

For now, I will aim for only two things with this blog. First, to write about aspects of South Indian Hindu culture that are important to me. This mostly will revolve around celebrations of our many wonderful and beautiful festivals and will also include more day to day habits of mine. Second, documentation of any new South Indian recipes that I try and feel that I succeed with... because we all know that food is a great way to connect with any culture!

I look forward to sharing my ideas while learning as well. Thank you for reading!